Syntax Spirits’ Still Mistress is back at it, with a new cat in Greeley

Syntax Spirits’ new iteration at the revitalized Greeley Elevator Building offers grain-to-glass spirits, food, and fun conversations. Photo by Emily Kemme.

By Emily Kemme

Animals are attracted to Heather Bean. They sense that Bean’s presence at Syntax Spirits as co-owner and Still Mistress, (aka, distiller) offers a safe haven.

Since the Greeley craft distillery’s beginnings in 2010, an overlyfriendly and overfed cat named Gustav ruled this grain-to-glass dominion. Gustav would disappear for days but always came back to Bean. They were best friends. Gustav would hold her hand the nights they shared a bed there during her extensive remodeling of her new location. Last year, Gustav disappeared for good. Bean, whose new iteration of her 11-year-old distillery sits adjacent to the railroad tracks at 700 6th St., still mourns him, though she is sticking to the story that Gustav hopped a railcar in search of interesting destinations down the line.

In Gustav’s place is Lucky, a kitten — one of five — who spent the second night of his life in Bean’s undergarments. Lucky is so named because, as Bean tells it, “This tomcat I’d never seen before in my life came in the [distillery] cat door and killed the kittens. Lucky is lucky to be alive.”

Bean’s research led her to an understanding that all cats do it. “Even lions and tigers, the tomcats kill kittens because the mother will go into heat again so the male can get his own kittens into the mix,” she explained.

These sorts of conversations are run of the mill, or in Syntax Spirits’ lingo, run of the grain elevator. The business moved several blocks west of its original location when she purchased and  renovated  the old Greeley Elevator Building in 2017.

Fast forward four years, a span of time that included Bean and partner Jeff Copeland, along with a devoted band of friends and contractors, gutting and revamping 117-year-old agricultural mainstay, including obtaining designation on the Greeley Historic Register. With the tasting room open, work was progressing on the new distilling area when the pandemic hit.

With the doors closed once again, Bean kept working on various DIY fixes to get the mill into good shape. During the shutdown, she also nabbed an ornate copper German still -- used in the distilling process -- from a distillery that lost its lease. 

In reopening, Bean can now show off the new still, in what some might call a copper colored silver lining.

For a refreshing glassful, the Green Goddess features Rose Gin muddled with cucumbers and thyme. Courtesy photo.

Shiny copper and fifteen feet tall with columns fourteen feet wide, Bean said it’ll make it look like she knows what she’s doing, belying the awards her products have garnered.

“It’ll improve people’s desire to do tours and take classes from me, and it provides that, ‘ooh-ahh’ factor. It makes me look more professional to some who aren’t as impressed by the scrappy do-it-yourself look we’ve previously had.”

In addition to being pretty, the new copper still is faster, so she’ll be able to make more product, including adding a juniper dry style gin to Syntax’s lineup of precision spirits.

Bean is also researching absinthe, which is often tagged with a scary reputation thanks to its literary association with the writer Oscar Wilde and his drinking buddies. According to Bean’s research, absinthe is scary only because of the insane amounts Wilde and others consumed. 

“Absinthe entails distilling wormwood, usually a bunch of botanicals like licorice, anise and fennel. It’s kind of like gin with base notes and then people go their own way. The only real scary factor about absinthe is you have to test it for the compound thujone — it may be toxic or psychoactive — but again, that’s not well-established. It’s the volume — Oscar Wilde was drinking a liter or more of alcohol a day,” she explained.

Bean says a Black Cat or Old Tom gin might be in the works, too.

Until the new still is operational, Syntax is running on inventory from the old facility, numbering 100 barrels of whiskey in the basement, a few drums of vodka, and pallets of bottled gin.

Bean is committed to selling only what she produces on-site. In that, Syntax is one of a handful of Colorado craft distilleries who do the full on grain-to-glass thing, she said. “Eighty percent of craft distillery business model is buy whiskey and age it or buy spirits and flavor it at your place. It’s almost like home brewing,” she noted.

Syntax Spirits is one of a handful of Colorado craft distilleries committed to a grain-to-glass production method. Precision spirits include Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Crystal Vodka, Rose Gin, and Heavy Rum. Courtesy photo.

Look for cocktails on the menu geared to a Greeley Elevator theme. Smoked whiskey cocktails have been popular, like the Smoked OF, with straight bourbon served in a cherry wood smoked snifter. Copeland as mixmaster creates them, with different riffs based on the type of wood used. Bean admits she’s surprised by how much the smoke affects a cocktail’s flavor. 

“The smoke condenses on the glass, it lingers and has a lot of oils so there’s a lot of flavor left.”

For a refreshing glassful, try the Green Goddess, gin muddled with cucumbers and thyme. If you’re in the mood for a berry blast, order the Red Leg, vodka muddled with fresh cherries and lime. The cocktail is named for Syntax’s red grain lift. There’s also a take on a favorite summer sipper: the Gin-ger Berry swirls Rose gin, blackberries and craft ginger beer in a copper mug. 

What you need to know

Where: 700 6th Street, Greeley, CO 80631

Hours: Tasting Room hours | Wed-Thur 3-7PM | Fri 3-9PM | Sat 2-9PM | Sun 2-5PM | Closed Mon-Tues

Contact: info@syntaxspirits.com | 970-352-5466 | www.syntaxspirits.com

Food and Fun: Signature cocktails | Basic drinks featuring Crystal Vodka, Rose Gin, Heavy Rum, Straight Bourbon, Wellhead Whiskey and Wine Barrel Bourbon | Edibles o’ the week include grilled ciabatta sandwiches, pulled pork quesadilla, cheese plate, hummus plate | Espresso | Comedy every 2nd and 4th Saturday; Trivia nights 1st and 3rd Saturdays | First Friday Art Shows